Author(s): Matthew Moore; Daniel Gilles; Jesse Piotrowski; Nathan Young
Linked Author(s): Nathan Young, Daniel Gilles, Jesse Piotrowski
Keywords: Flooding; Coupled 1D/2D modelling; Raster based modelling
Abstract: In the summer of 2008, extreme flooding caused millions of dollars of damage to the Midwestern United States, exposing a lack of knowledge and preparation for major flood events. In response to this disaster, the State of Iowa established the Iowa Flood Center (IFC), a centre for advanced research and education specifically related to floods, the first of its kind in the nation. One objective of the IFC is to create community-based tools to better inform managers, policy makers, and individuals about flood risks. To this end, the IFC has used two-dimensional numerical simulations to supplement flood forecast information issued by the National Weather Service (NWS). Simulations are being used to create libraries of flood inundation maps corresponding to forecasted river stages in Iowa communities. Continued efforts seek to expand application to real-time forecasting systems and simulation-based interactive flood mitigation and planning tools.
Year: 2011